A Touch of Insanity
by Raidoni
Summary: Hyuuga Hinata has just moved in with her cousin Neji along with her father Hiashi and younger sister Hanabi. She has to abide to starting anew with a new high school and making friends. AU. GaaHina along with some others :3
1. Arrival

A/N: Well, this is my first fanfiction ever so...you'll just have to bear with me here. I did have a prologue but I took it out. So I had to redo the first chapter to explain a bit more. Well...sorta...more like adding more author's notes. So...this fic is Gaara and Hinata so if you don't like or agree with this pairing I suggest you click that little back arrow key and look for somethin' different. If you are unsure about this pairing go ahead and give it a read. Its all fluff and cuteness with nothing to the extreme and of course...its High school AU! Who can go wrong with that!? There is also a little bit of slash...but ya know...nothing really bad because...extreme sends me into dark corners crying. So anyway, enough of my rambling, get on with readin' already!

Side Note: I will be using honorifics so…if you don't know what they mean then you can just ignore them and feel special about the fact that you'll understand what they mean one day. Or maybe I'll be nice enough to put them and their meanings in my profile. :)

**A Touch of Insanity**

Chapter 1: Arrival

Hyuuga Hinta sat silently in her bed. Her pale lavender eyes gazed over at the small yellow chick shaped clock on her bedside table. The clock read 5:45 am. Why was she up so early? Clearly because it was Monday and Monday ment her first day at a new school. She shifted her line of view to a package on her desk which was located near the sliding door that led to the hallway. The package's contents were her school uniform. She wasn't looking forward to it and hadn't even opened it up to happily show her father what it looked like on her. She knew she wouldn't get any happy comments, only words such as "I'm sorry but I need to work, can you show me later?" and "Please Hinata, I don't have time for this."

She wouldn't say that her father was the worst man in the world but she couldn't say that he was the best. It was his neglect towards her that really hurt her most and only lowered her confidence.

After letting out a small sigh, Hinata got out of bed and turned on the lamp on her bedside table. She slowly walked to her door and opened it, her gaze averted downward.

"H-Hinata-sama. You're up early."

At the sound of someone's voice Hinata quickly looked up to see who the owner was.

"N-Neji-niisan, w-what are you doing here? I-I mean…good morning." Standing at the door was none other than her older cousin Neji. His own pale lavender eyes were slightly wide with surprise to see his cousin up to early. His long brown hair was not yet pulled back in its usual loose ponytail but he was clearly already in his school uniform. The male uniform consists of a navy blue coat that buttons up the front along with a standing collar. The pants are the same color straight legged along with a black belt around the waist. Some boys would wear this uniform in a sloppy style to prove they were different from other goody-goody boys. Neji, however, wore his uniform properly. No buttons were undone and it seemed to be ironed out well.

His hand was balled up into a light fist as if to be ready to knock on Hinata's door. His face turned a light shade of pink at her question, though it wasn't noticeable due to the fact that it was still fairly dim outside with the an outdoor garden just beyond Hinata's door being the only source of natural light.

"I came to wake you up. I am usually early for school and I thought that it would a good opportunity for you to early so that you can have a look around." Neji said sounding as normal as possible. After all, it was almost 6 in the morning.

"Y-yeah, that would be a good idea. I'll..try to be quick." At the last sentence Neji put his hand up to stop her.

"No need. Take as much time that is needed Hinata-sama." With that said he walked off down the hallway. The sound of his quiet foot steps were all that was heard along with the light chirping of crickets outside as the morning grew nearer.

Hinata watched as he turned the corner. She remained still for a moment before backing into her room once more and closing the door along with turning on the overhead lights. She glanced at the package once more before letting out a sigh and heading towards it.

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It was now 6:30 and Hinata has finished getting ready for school. Her short bluish hair had been combed and she'd finally put on her school uniform. As for the female uniform it consists of a white long sleeved blouse with a baby blue sleeveless sweater over top. A black ribbon is tied around the collar of the blouse. As for the skirt it is knee length pleated skirt. As for socks long white knee length socks do fine along with a pair of black penny loafers.

Hinata stood outside the door that led to the kitchen. Her face was slightly red with embarrassment. She had worn school uniforms in the past but for some reason she didn't feel very comfortable in this new one. She entered the kitchen slowly noticing Neji sitting at the rounded table in the center munching on a piece of toast while looking at the newspaper.

He paused when he heard someone enter the room. He looked up from his readings and was slightly taken back at what he saw. If he wasn't so noble his jaw would have dropped.

"It…doesn't look too bad...right?" Hinata said silently taking quick interest in the ground below her.

"No, not at all. It looks really good on you! I mean… I'm sure Hiashi-sama and Hanabi-sama would agree." Neji quickly replied with correction.

At the mention of her sister and father Hinata brightened up a bit. A smile spread across her face as she moved toward one of the counters where tea had earlier been prepared by Neji. As she poured herself a cup she said in almost a whisper, "Thank you Neji-niisan."

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The air outside was cool and crisp. It seemed to still be a little bit early to be leaving for school but Hinata didn't have any objections. She really wanted to have a look around the school, get used to who comes early and who comes late. She had been to the school once about a week after she moved to the Hyuuga sector of Konoha but she didn't quite remember all the details about it. She didn't get a chance to see who stayed after school for club meetings or even see what kind of clubs even existed. She was coming to school about a month after it started so she would have an even harder time trying to fit in.

It wasn't long before Neji and Hinata reached the school gates. By the time they got there it was almost 7 o'clock. Even though Neji could drive he hardly ever used his car unless absolutely necessary.

The school was large. Three floors in all along with an extra floor to the far left of the building, which was apparently off limits to all. It was built with large sturdy gray bricks. A flight of stairs led to the entrance where three sets of two doors lined the building. Grassy areas lined both sides of the side walk where benches and pick nick tables along with shady trees losing their leaves lived.

To the right, a girl with brown hair in two buns sat on one of the benches staring at the school gates. When she caught sight of Neji and Hinata she brightened up and jumped from the bench below her. She wore the same kind of uniform as Hinata only her ribbon was loose around her neck.

"Neji! It's about time you got here! I've been waiting for about…" she trailed off as she looked at her watch then began to speak again, "Two minutes!" she then began to laugh quietly to herself when she noticed it hadn't been long at all.

"Good morning Ten-Ten." Neji said politely moving towards the girl known as Ten-ten and meeting her halfway.

"Eh? Who's that? Oh wait! No, let me guess! This is Hinata you're cousin! Wow Neji, you were right! She really is cute!" she said with a smile as she examined Hinata who seemed to be slightly hiding behind her cousin. At Ten-ten's comment Neji turned a light shade of pink and opened his mouth to speak but quickly closed it as if lost for words.

"Ten-ten! Keep your mouth shut!" he said finally finding something to say. Ten-ten only replied with a giggle before offering her hand out to greet Hinata.

"I'm Ten-ten, I've been friends with Neji for quite some time now. He's talked about you a lot!"

"Ten…ten…" Neji said quietly to no one in particular. Hinata moved away from Neji slightly so she could shake Ten-ten's hand.

"P-pleased to meet you! I'm Hyuuga Hinata."

Ten-ten looked at Hinata with a smile. "Lets be good friends! Okay?" she then moved her gaze to Neji. "…And it looks like you have something to say to me alone. I'm right aren't I Neji." A sly look came across her face as she wrapped her hands around Neji's right arm. At that Neji quickly looked up to face Hinata.

"You can have a look around the school. If you get lost I can come and find you. You can count on it." With that said the two turned and began moving towards one of the benches farther away from Hinata. The poor girl was left alone to have a look around. She knew that what Neji said was true, he would come to find her if she got lost but she didn't quite know how he would be able to find her. Sometimes he could be such a mystery to her.

"I guess… I'll have a look around then." With that said Hinata moved up the stairs to the school's front doors. It was time to have a look at what she would be experiencing for a long time to come.

Next Time: Curiosity killed the cat


	2. Curiosity killed the cat

A/N: Thank you to those who reviewed. I'm happy to know that my story has come off to a good start besides the few spelling mistakes. I'll try harder to read over my work to catch those evil typos!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto or the Character in the anime/manga. They belong to Masashi-san!

Chapter 2: Curiosity killed the cat.

Just by simply seeing the outside of the school made it look big but once you got inside it seemed HUGE. Hinata gazed at her surroundings. The walls were painted a pale yellowish color while the floors were tiled with pure marble. To the right of the front doors stood the office. It was an enclosed area it a door leading into it while glass surrounded it. An opening in the glass indicated that that was where you were supposed to speak to the workers.

Slowly, Hinata moved forward into the school. Already the options of going one-way or the other was thrown at her. She looked into the office at the workers typing on computers and getting things ready for the day. One of the women was drinking a cup of coffee. It actually looked like she was on her tenth cup. Hinata grinned nervously at the woman and quickened her pace so she wouldn't have to speak to any of them even if it was her option to do so.

This was when she came to her first fork. Her options were to continue forward, head left or go up the stairs to the right. Without putting much thought into her answer she headed up the stairs to her right. She was more curious of how high she could head up. She would just have to find the stairs the led her higher up first.

As soon as she reached the top her eyes widened. The hallway before her was long, really long. It was lined with classrooms on both the left and right side. The first door that caught her eye was wide open. The lights were on inside but it didn't appear to have anyone occupying it at the moment. Slowly and cautiously she moved towards the open door. Once she was close enough she put her hand on the doorframe and peeked in trying to be unnoticed, however, her efforts were futile. Right there, sitting lazily in one of the desks sat a boy with crimson red hair. His pale green eyes stared lifelessly at the floor before the teacher's desk at the front. Dark rings were formed around his eyes most likely caused by years of being an insomniac. His school uniform wasn't all neat and tidy like Neji's was but was worn in a sloppy manner that clearly indicated that he didn't care about his appearance. His gaze shifted at the sound of someone approaching along with the feeling of being watched. His cold dark stare pierced through Hinata like a bullet. He slowly sat up in his chair to get a better look at the girl. There was definitely something wrong with her.

"What?" he asked simply in a monotone voice.

Just when Hinata thought his looks in general were freaky enough his deep voice sent shivers down her spine. Her jaw continuously opened and closed as if lost for words. Slowly her eyes began to well up with tears. Her heart was racing. Something about him told her to run and never look back. Who was he? Why did he frighten her so? It didn't make any sense at all.

"What's wrong with you?" the boy asked again. He leaned forward in his chair and rested his arms on the table before him. The indigo haired girl was really starting to tick him off. He hated it when people openly showed that they were afraid of him. On the other hand, it also pleased him to see how terrified she was.

"_Strange…I've never seen her around the school before. She new or something?" _his thoughts trailed off to their own little world before Hinata took a cautious step back, as if he was going to jump out of his seat and attack her.

"S-sorry…I-I didn't know…so I…uh." Hinata took another step back. Her voice was so quiet it was almost impossible to hear. She was trembling. Her feet seemed to fail to receive the message to run. A noise hit the ground below Hinata's feet. She had dropper her book bag and thanks to the noise she made a run for it. She ran down the hall not back to the whence she came but down the long hallway that seemed to go on forever. She had to get out. She had to get away. She never wanted to see the red head's face ever again.

"_But…why am I running?"_

She seemed to be running for what seemed like hours but it turned out she only was able to burn 2 minutes. Once she was at another fork in the hallways she stopped to catch her breath. She slowly looked behind her as if she was sure that he had followed her. Through her rapid breath she let out a sigh of relief. She had already made a complete fool of herself on her first day. Who knows what people would think of her now. Even if it had only been on person that saw her, she was sure that he would tell his friends. Things weren't going as smoothly as planned.

Hinata was finished exploring the school. She managed to find her way back outside where more and more students were now gathering and chatting amongst friends. She looked around slowly, her pale lavender eyes looking from one face to another. She couldn't find Neji or Ten-ten anywhere. What now? There was at least a half hour before school would start. Should she try to make friends? No way. She couldn't just walk up to random people and try to make a conversation out of things. It was way too nerve racking. She let out a sigh of defeat as she sat on the steps. She rested her elbows on her knees followed by her chin resting on her hands.

"Oh! Hey, I haven't seen you around before. Are you the new transferred student I've heard so much about?" a female voice asked. Hinata looked up to see two girls. One had short pink hair while the other had blonde hair put up into a bun with a long strand of hair at the front. Hinata felt her heart jump when she noticed that they were talking to her.

"O-oh! Yes, I'm starting new today." She replied quietly. The pink haired girl smiled and glanced over at the blonde who returned the smile.

"Great! Looks like we're going to be in the same class together. At least that's what I heard." Her green eyes looked down at Hinata's sitting form. "I'm Haruno Sakura. And this is Yamanaka Ino. And you are…?" she sent the petite girl and questioning glance as she asked her name. Hinata quickly stood up and bowed graciously.

"I-I'm Hyuuga Hinata. It's a pleasure to meet you!" The one, known as Ino, let out a small giggle at Hinata's formal act.

"No need to be so formal. A simple hand shake would be nice." She put her hand out ready to have a simple handshake.

"R-right…um…Ino-san." Hinata shook hands with the blue-eyed girl. She was surprised when she was pulled into a swift and hard shake. "No, no! You can just call me Ino-chan!" she said with a smile that was returned with a weak smile from Hinata.

"So…I take it you'll need help finding your classes right? Ino-pig and I can help you around if you'd like. You know, since we're in all the same classes and all." Hinata brightened up at what Sakura said and nodded her head.

"Y-yes! That would be nice."

"Hey! Who are you calling 'Ino pig' Forehead girl!" it seemed as though a vein popped in Sakura's head when Ino spoke. The two girls immediately put their heads together while giving each other death stares.

"I thought we had a deal _Ino pig_!"

"What deal! The one where you give up Sasuke-kun?"

"There's no way I'm giving up Sasuke-kun to the likes of you! Besides he _clearly_ doesn't like you anyway!"

The two girl's bickering continued leaving Hinata to stand helplessly trying to break it up. It wasn't long until a cute blonde boy with shining ocean blue eyes came along waving his arms wildly in the air towards the girls.

"Oi! Sakura-_chan_!" his voice caused the two girls to stop fighting and immediately draw their attention to the boy. Was this the 'Sasuke-kun' they were talking about? Her question would soon be answered when…

"Naruto! Stay away!" Sakura's enraged voice roared as she lunged towards him landing a hard punch on the boy's cheek sending him flying with a small squeak emerging from his mouth. Sakura cupped her fist with her other hand in triumph. "I thought I told you to stop following me! Honestly when will you learn! The teachers will think that your parents are beating you at home!"

"S-Sakura-chan…you're so mean! You should know by now that I don't have parents!" Naruto replied cupping his wounded cheek with his right hand. Suddenly strong hand grabbed his arms and pulled Naruto up to a standing position. Naruto whirled around to come face to face with dark eyes and dark raven colored hair. Both Ino and Sakura began to swoon at the new boy's appearance then suddenly let out a fangirlish squeal.

"Kya! Sasuke-kun!" the two said in together then suddenly sent death glares at the other. Naruto quickly pulled away once he was standing again. He jumped back and pointed an accusing finger at the one known as Sasuke.

"Y-you! I don't need your help!"

"You total moron…" was all Sasuke could say before walking forward with a slight grin on his face. He passed by Naruto then Ino and Sakura and stopped in front of Hinata.

"Who do we have here? The heiress to the Hyuuga clan…my guess? Hyuuga Hinata, correct?" his smooth and cool voice seemed to make any girl swoon or faint on the spot. Hinata, herself, just simply blushed and nodded. He certainly was something to look at but Hinata tried her best to hide that fact. In the back Naruto seemed to be sulking as he watched Sasuke suddenly pay more attention to the new girl than to him. Of course, the young slim boy would never admit to that.

"I am Uchiha Sasuke. It is a pleasure to meet you." With that said he took hold of Hinata hand and landed a soft yet brief kiss on her hand. That did it. Naruto felt as though he had just been punched and thrown to the ground. Oh wait, he did!

"Damn you Sasuke! Stop flirting!" Naruto called pointing another accusing finger at the dark haired boy. As much as they hated to admit it, Ino and Sakura were thinking the same thing the loud blonde had said. Oh, how jealous they were when Sasuke knew exactly who Hinata was. They would have ditched the girl right then and there and taken back everything they said to her earlier but of course that would be completely rude. Things would only get out of hand if Hinata started taking advantage of Sasuke's friendliness.

Suddenly the bell rang for class. It was hard to believe that all that took a half hour. Hinata turned her attention to the school building as everyone else did.

"See you in class, Hinata" Sasuke said before heading inside.

"Damn you to hell Sasuke!" said a raging Naruto as he ran in after him.

"Come on! Come on! Lets get to class!" Ino said taking a hold on Hinata's left arm while Sakura nodded and took her right arm. They all headed in without letting Hinata reject their offer.

"B-but what about Neji-niisan…?" She tried to say to the girls but her voice was too quiet for them to hear. She looked behind her to see if she could find him but it didn't do her any good. She'd have to find him later. Or have him find her.

A/N: I bet there are plenty of spelling mistakes in this chapter. It was kinda rushed so I'll have to fix things tomorrow. I hope to have the next chapter up sometime around the weekend or later. Don't be too surprised if it comes later. School is such a pain.

Next Time: Time for class.


	3. Time for Class

A/N: I apologize for the long wait. I was struggling with some parts of this chapter as I was writing it. I think I finally have a good idea. I really got to get my rear in gear! Again I'm sorry for any spelling mistakes. Maybe when I'm done with this story I'll go over all my mistakes. I feel like concentrating more on getting chapters up then being a worrywart over spelling mistakes.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto or the Character in the anime/manga. It all belongs to Masashi-san!

Chapter 3: Time for class 

As Ino and Sakura pulled Hinata into the school slowly leading her to their class Hinata couldn't help but feel as though something was missing. Her thoughts were cut short when she realized the route they were taking; up the first flight of stairs seen and to the first classroom on the left. It was the same room where she came face to face with the boy with crimson red hair. Was he still there? She swallowed hard when the thought came to mind. What would he say or do when he saw her again. Obviously he would think she was weird for running away like that. He hadn't even done anything wrong and still she ran away like he was a murderer or something.

"Well this is it!" Sakura said as she and Ino let go of Hinata's arms. "Just wait here while we tell Kakashi sensei you're here." With that said the two girls dashed into the room leaving Hinata alone in a crowded hallway.

She could hear Naruto's loud voice coming from within along with the fangirlish cries of several girls. Obviously Sasuke was in the room. She looked down at the floor below her and clenched her hands into loose fists. That's when she noticed it, where on earth was her book bag?

When Ino and Sakura made a giggling entrance, a certain red head looked up curiously. His name? Sabaku Gaara. The two girls went straight to the teacher at the front of the room. Gaara could only catch a few words of what the girls were saying. One name caught his attention easily though. Hyuuga Hinata. He glanced at the bag beside his desk. The same one he picked up when earlier that morning a girl stared at him with fear written all over her face and dropper her bag. The bag had the name Hyuuga Hinata written on the front. What a coincidence that she ended up in his class.

"Yeah, we told her to wait outside the room until you were ready." Ino continued to say. Gaara glanced at the door. There he could see a hint of dark bluish hair and a female school uniform. That must be her.

"**_Oh my, I bet you're happy to see her again" _**Gaara's inner conscience mocked.

"_Shut up, I'm just returning her bag." _Gaara shot back.

"**_Since when did you become Mister Nice Guy? You're just so sweet. Oh how I love having you as my vessel."_**

"_I told you to shut up. It's not like that."_

"**_Oh really? If you say so…" _**If it were possible a smirk would have crept upon the creatures face. Gaara closed his eyes for a brief second before opening them once more as he stood from his seat. He picked up Hinata's bag and began heading for the door. As he did so it seemed like the whole room stopped what they were doing to stare at him.

"Hey Gaara! Where're you going?" Naruto asked in a loud manner, which was completely ignored by the other teen. Sasuke gave Gaara a stern look as if knowing something bad was about to happen.

Hinata began to chew on her bottom lip as the room behind her fell silent besides Naruto asking someone a question. What was happening? She wanted to peek in and look but she feared she might see 'him' again. Finally after having a small debate within herself she took in a deep breath and turned around swiftly to look inside the room. What she didn't expect was to hit her head lightly on something. What it was that she bumped into could have given her a heart attack. She was now standing wide eyed in front of her book bag. Someone was holding it. Her pale lavender eyes carefully traveled to the handle of the bag where a pale hand held onto it firmly. A dark navy blue sleave was seen which told her that it was a male holding her bag. She was almost afraid to look any farther. Up the arm, to the shoulders…to the eyes of a clear insomniac with crimson red hair and pale emerald eyes.

Her heart seemed to skip a beat when she came face to face with the one she ran from earlier. Here he was, holding _her_ bag with a blank expression that was completely unreadable to the rest of the world.

"This…is yours right?" He pointed to the name on the bag then continued his sentence. "Hyuuga Hinata. Nice name I guess." The last part sounded like it was forced out of his mouth, like he didn't want to say it at all. What seduced him to say that? Damn that inner self, always getting in the way!

Immediately Hinata looked away from his face and took a rapid interest in the marble flooring. Everything was quiet, everyone in the classroom had their attention on the two, even people in the hallways seemed to stop what they were doing to watch what would happen next. Obviously, Gaara wasn't the kind of person that would return a lost item and everyone in school knew it. Hinata was unable to speak, the silence was unbearable. She wanted to run away…_again_. Her lack of an answers got to Gaara quickly. He waited for what seemed like hours for her to say something such as a 'yes' or a 'thank you' maybe. He didn't expect her to be this way at all.

"Tch…" a grimace expression came across his face out of frustration. He reached out to her with his free hand and firmly yet gently took her chin with is thumb and index finger forcing to her took at him.

"Well?" he asked her once more. Hinata seemed to jump on the spot. She took in a deep breath then began her sad reply.

"Y-yes! I-it's mine." She answered as quickly as she could. Due to the silence her voice was easily heard. She had to answer, it seemed like the only way to leave his grasp. He really wasn't as bad as she thought. He had complimented on her name but she was still too shaken up from their previous encounter to take it to her heart. Although her answer didn't release her from his grasp, he seemed to be searching her eyes for something and he was getting frustrated when he was unable to find it. He went to open his mouth to say something else when he was quickly cut off by a loud voice.

"YOU! Get your hands off my cousin!" Neji's loud stern voice echoed in the hallways from the top of the stairs. He moved swiftly to the two in what seemed like two steps. He slapped away Gaara's hand from Hinata and forcefully grabbed her bag from his other hand. "How dare you manipulate Hinata-sama like that!" his eyes seemed to be on fire as he glared at the red head's blank face yet his heart seemed to melt when he looked at Hinata innocent face. "Hinata-sama, are you all right?" his voice softened when he spoke to her. He handed her bag to her as his anger returned when he looked at Gaara once more.

"I-its not what you think Neji-niisan! He was just…returning my bag that I dropped earlier and so…" as she spoke her voice was slowly becoming quieter and harder to hear. She began to hang her head knowing that Neji wouldn't listen to what she had to say.

"There's no need to try to cover for _him_." Neji said as he took Hinata's hand into his own. "Come on, lets see if we can get you a new class." He tried to move towards the stairs with his cousin in hand but he was quickly pulled back by Hinata's refusal to move. "Hinata…sama?"

"I-its really okay Neji-niisan…" she let go of his hand allowing his grip to loosen in shock.

"Hinata-sama…w-why...?"

"You're just misunderstanding things Neji-niisan. It's really all right. I-I have some friends in this class now…Y-you'll just have to b-believe in me…" she finished off her sentence with a slight smile spreading across her lips. She was fiddling with her fingers and her face was turning a light shade of pink. Neji was speechless. He didn't know what to do as of now.

"Tch, fine. But if you need anything at all, a class change or something, please come to me and we can sort things out then." Hinata nodded happily and gave her cousin a quick hug. Neji let a small smile spread across his face at that but it quickly faded when a certain someone broke the moment.

"How sweet. Playing Rescue Hero." Gaara let out a mocking sigh as he turned his back to the two to head back into the classroom.

"AND YOU!" Neji quickly added. "YOU stay away from my cousin. If I catch the two of you together ever again I'll rip you to pieces!" He suddenly seemed to return to normal as he turned his own back to them leaving Hinata in the middle confused. "Take care Hinata-sama." With that said he moved down the stairs and out of sight. By the time Hinata had turned around to apologize to Gaara he was already back in the classroom.

"_This is some first day of school…" _she thought to herself trying her best to conceal a giggle. When she looked back into the classroom she noticed that at least half of the people were looking at her while the other half seemed to be crowding around Gaara. As soon as her eyes met with anyone looking at her she'd quickly look away. She knew what was going on, rumors were bound to be spread. She put her back against the wall next to the door and held her book bag close to her chest as she let out a deep sigh. "Definitely an interesting first day."

"Hyuuga Hinata-san?" came a deep male's voice. Hinata jumped slightly before looking to see who it was. A tall man with silver hair and a scar over his left eye stood smiling down at her. She nodded in response. "My name is Hatake Kakashi. I'll be your History teacher." Hinata perked up and quickly bowed deeply.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Kakashi sensei!" she said quickly. Kakashi let out a laugh as he rubbed the back of his head.

"My, my you flatter me." He placed a hand on the petite girl's head as she looked up at him. "I can tell you're going to be a blessing to this classroom. To have two students of high society in my class is a great honor." With that said he let out another brief laugh. "Come in, come in." he walked back into the classroom and beckoned Hinata to follow suit.

"Two?" she asked herself quietly before following Kakashi in.

Once they were inside Kakashi clapped his hands in order to get everyone's attention but it didn't seem to work. A disappointed look spread across his face as he watched his scattered class. "EVERYONE LISTEN UP!" he yelled loudly. Everyone in the room seemed to jump ten feet. Well almost everyone. Gaara, a guy with poofy brown hair and rounded sunglasses known as Shino, and a boy with long brown hair and a feminine face named Haku were the only once that didn't jump at all.

"H-Holy crap dude!" Naruto said as he clutched to Sasuke's chest. "I'll never get used to that!" He quickly stopped what he was saying when he noticed who he was grabbed in the process of his fear.

"Naruto…would you please let go…" Sasuke said as he tried to cover up the fact that he had also grabbed Naruto in the commotion. His face was a slight pink color while Naruto's was more of a beat red as he jumped back. "OMIGAWD!" he yelled equally as loud as Kakashi causing more people to jump. "WTF!" with that said Naruto seemed to have melted on the spot and fell into a depressed emo state in the far corner of the room as he crouched down and wrote with his finger on the floor 'I grabbed Sasuke…' over and over again. Most of the girls in the room were in shock as well. They were saying stuff like 'hey!' 'Why didn't I think of that' and 'Damn you Naruto, you're so dead'.

Kakashi cleared his throat to get everyone's attention back to him, everyone _but_ Naruto.

"Class, we have a new student joining us today. As some of you may know this is Hyuuga Hinata. Some of you may recognize her last name while some of you may have already met her in person. Lets all make her feel welcome." Hinata bowed to everyone before her.

"Thank you for having me!" she said shyly. Some people began talking amongst themselves, mostly the girls. The word about her and Sasuke spread fast. It was like what had just happened outside the classroom never happened.

"Lets see…There's an empty seat in front of Gaara. Why don't you sit there?" Kakashi pointed the seat out. Hinata was hesitant when she found out that Gaara was the red head. She wanted to protest but she didn't want to be rude. There would always be new seating arrangements right? She moved to her seat and sat down nervously. The girl in front of her turned around to stare at Hinata.

"You'd better be careful. Whoever sits there usually ends up dead in a week!" the girl began to laugh silently to herself as she turned around.

"Man…the girls in this class are waaay too troublesome…" the boy sitting next to her said. His uniform shirt was unbuttoned all the way revealing a white t-shirt underneath. He glanced over to see Hinata staring at him. "Hm? Oh, my names Nara Shikamaru. Really I think you shouldn't hang around most of the girls in this class. They're all ditsy. Well, unless you're as troublesome as they are."

"I-I see…" Shikamaru could see that she was nervous but he could also see that she wasn't like the other girls in the class.

"Man…I can't believe I'm doing this." He said lazily to himself as he ran a hand over his short brown hair that was put up in a high ponytail. He began writing on a piece of paper. Hinata watched curiously wondering what he was doing. After a moment he handed her the piece of paper.

"There, it's our classroom see? I've gone and labeled all the desks with everyone's names. Sorry if it's crappy…doing a good job would be too troublesome." With that said he laid his head down on his desk and slowly drifted off to sleep. Hinata was still confused. She looked at the paper he gave her. It really did have everyone on it. It even had a list of what teacher taught them what and when. Her expression lightened at this and when she turned to thank him he was already asleep.

"**_Hyuu Why didn't you think of that? You could have scored major points!"_** Gaara's inner self was at it again and there was nothing he could do about it.

"I thought I told you to shut up…"

"**_But you tell me to shut up all the time. It's gotten to the point where it doesn't mean anything to me. You're just so fun to be with! But hey, seriously you should have thought of that!"_**

"_Oh please…give me a break."_

"**_Hohoho! I can picture it now! You two passing love notes in class. The boxed lunches! And lets not forget going to festivals together!- whoa!"_**

Gaara hit his head with his palm. This obviously caused something to happen to the voice inside his head. He really wished it would stop. He wasn't even sure when it started or what it was anyway. There was no way he was going insane though.

"Alright…As we all know the autumn festival is coming up. So we'll be doing some research on it. I'm going to put you into groups of three or four and it will be your responsibility to hand in the assignment on time. It'll be due tomorrow so you better get a move on or you'll have to get together after school." Kakashi began to speak as he handed papers out.

"Hyuuga-san, this shouldn't be too hard since its group work. Consider this a way to show everyone what you got." He smiled at her and gave her a thumbs-up. He then headed to the front of the room and began writing names on the board to set up the groups. Once he was done it seemed like once again Hinata's heart skipped a beat. Why did this kind of thing always happen to her?

A/N: Hm…I was going to make it longer but I guess I was too lazy. Haha, I actually kinda enjoyed this chapter. I'm slowly trying to make the whole GaaraXHinata thing work. Look forward to the next chappy. I won't make any promises for when it will come out though.

Review…Reviews!

**The Norwegian Dragon: **Well, I'm glad you like it so much…Here's another chapter. Lets just hope you didn't blow up first. Haha

**Katreda:** Its all right if you don't really like it. I said I was open to criticism so thanks for you're opinion. I really don't like the prologue much either…I've been thinking of taking it out. I put it in really because my sister wanted to read my story but she doesn't really know much about Naruto. Oh yeah and…YAY for school uniforms :D

**Sailorchix:** hehe, glad you like it. You'll find out why Sasuke knows Hinata a little later on. There is a little hint in this chapter aswell though.

**StarlightDemonFiresong:** You're right, it is GaaHina. I really don't like to make characters that I don't really like seem retarded or something like that. Besides…Im really trying my best to keep everyone in character.

**Crimson-sky-line:** Thank you. I guess I never really thought that reviews would be so fun.

Thank you muchly for the reviews everyone! I'll try to do something like this at the end of chapters that have new reviews. If there are any questions then this is the place where I'll be answering them. See you next time!

Next: A little set up.


	4. A little set up

A/N: I decided to take out the prologue. I thought it was pretty stupid to begin with anyway, I think it gives my story a bad name haha. Anyway...I've been schedualing things out and Im planning on putting a chapter up everyday til November. I can't make any promises but I'll do my best to follow up to your expectations.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto sadly...If I did then obviously Gaara and Hinata would be together and Sasuke and Naruto would be together :D

**A Touch of Insanity**

Chapter 4: A little set up.

Hinata stared at the chalkboard. The names listed for the groups caused her to continuously look from the paper from Shikamaru to the chalkboard once more. When she saw her name she looked at the other names in the group. Sakura, Kiba, and Naruto. Thank god Gaara wasn't in her group. He appeared to be with Sai, Sasuke, and Haku. Ino was left with Shikamaru, Chouji, and Shino. Who knew what was going through Kakashi's head when he made these groups. Hinata never really knew _how_ teachers managed to make groups so easily. She was quickly snapped out of her own little world when she heard Kakashi's voice speak up.

"Alright everyone, get started!" with that said everyone began to scatter around the room. Without even realizing it Sakura was already standing in front of Hinata's desk. She smiled as she looked down at Hinata's small form.

"You have some explaining to do." Sakura said simply. Hinata had a dumb found look on her face at Sakura's words. What was she talking about? Had she done something wrong? Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud brown haired boy with red face pain on his cheeks.

"Alright you guys! Lets get moving!" His loud choice of words were quickly followed up by a small howl coming from inside his shirt. Miraculously, Naruto had left his depressed state and was now examining the brown haired boy's bulky shirt.

"Hmm…Kiba! You brought your dog to school again! Wait till I tell Kakashi sensei!" Naruto quickly perked up and began running to the front of the class where Kakashi was now sitting lazily at the teacher's desk reading a book entitled: 'Icha Icha Paradise vol. 2'. Every now and then the older man would start giggling at what he was reading.

"Sensei!!! Kiba brought his-" Naruto was quickly cut off by Kiba grabbing the back collar of Naruto's uniform causing the blonde to be yanked back in a choked state. "Hey! What do you think you're doing! You trying to kill me or somethin'?" A very confused Naruto stared at the serious yet angry Kiba.

"You! You keep your mouth shut! You may think you can get away with anything just because you're cute but you're wrong! Just this once, please, _please _keep your mouth shut…" Judging by Naruto's expression he wasn't going to listen until, "or I'll slit your throat when you're walking home from school." Kiba did a demonstration by using his index finger and running it slowly across his neck while making a disturbing sound in the process. This caused Naruto to quickly nod his head in agreement as he began sweating bullets.

"U-uh…um…Naruto-kun…K-Kiba-kun…" Hinata gaped at them slightly as if wanting to break up whatever was happening. She was cut off by Sakura cracking her knuckles causing both boys to turn her way.

"We have work to do…don't we you two?" An evil grin spread across Sakura's face causing both boys to take hold of each other's arms. "Y-yes ma'am!" they said in unison. "That's better…" With that said they all sat down, putting a few desks together in order to form their group properly. As soon as they were settled in Sakura quickly turned her attention back to Hinata.

----------------------

"So come on! Spill the beans! What's up with you and Gaara?" when Sakura was speaking both Naruto and Kiba glanced at one another, so much for getting to work.

"E-eh? W-what do you m-mean?" Hinata managed to stutter as her face turned a light shade of red.

"You know! Gaara? Old raccoon eyes over there? Kanji for 'love' tattooed on his forehead? That Gaara! There has to be something going on between you guys. I mean, Gaara isn't the kind of guy that does nice things for people. I heard that the only person he truly loved was his uncle who he killed when he was a child."

"R-really…W-well…He doesn't seem that bad." Hinata was already starting to twiddle her fingers. She really didn't want to get onto the subject of what happened early nor did she want to hear truths or lies about Gaara's past. If he wanted people to know he would tell them himself.

"Eh? Could it be? Love at first sight!?" Sakura's face began to light up like the sun itself was inside her head. Hinata rapidly looked up and shook her hands in front of her fiercely.

"N-No! Y-y-you have it all wrong!" she spat out, "I-its nothing like that." She looked down as she placed her hands on her lap. "He was just being nice…I guess." When she looked up again she could see Sakura looking across the room then back at Hinata then repeated the process. She seemed to be comparing something, or trying to take one thing and put it with the other. When Hinata followed Sakura's line of sight she noticed that she was now looking at Gaara who was sitting with his group quietly doing his work. Strange, for some reason Gaara didn't seem to be the type that would do work at all.

"Oh yeah, I can definitely see you two together. You'd look so cute!" Sakura's words caused Hinata to jump. Had she really gotten lost in thought when she was looking at Gaara? No, that wasn't right. It was just her imagination. She didn't have enough time to let the pink haired girl's words go through her mind and process an answer before she began talking again.

"_I have to set something up!" _ Sakura thought then put her thoughts into play. "Hey listen, Hinata. How about going out for ramen after school with a few friends. It shouldn't be anyone you don't already know. Mostly people from this class and maybe a few from some higher grades but that's pretty much it." She then turned her attention to Naruto and Kiba who seemed to be dozing off in their seats. Or more like Kiba was dozing off while Naruto just sat there looking like a cute dumbass.

"You two! Wanna come and get ramen after school?" she asked as politely as possible to the two idiots before her. At the word 'ramen' Naruto quickly jumped up in his seat. When he was in the air it seemed like a photo had been taken of him making him immobile to any more movements. "YATA!!!" He yelled loudly causing the whole class to look their way. "Ramen, ramen, ramen! Sakura-chan and ramen! What a great combo!" His enthusiasm quickly died down when he heard Sakura's voice call across to the room to Sasuke's group.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura jumped from her chair and ran over to the all male group. What a great chance. Using Sasuke as an excuse to also ask Gaara to come along. No matter what she couldn't fail at this one.

"Sasuke-kun! How about ramen after school with the gang?" Sakura explained as carefully as she could. She didn't want to be turned down so easily. Sasuke looked passed Sakura to a completely fumed Naruto. His dark eyes met with ocean blue one and he already knew his answer.

"Why not." He replied simply looking back at Sakura. "You'll just have to explain who 'the gang' is."

"Well…I haven't really asked everyone but so far we have Hinata, Kiba, Naruto, myself and you. I was hoping to get Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Shino, Lee, Tenten, Neji, Sai, and Haku." She turned to the last two boys who were sitting near Sasuke. "How about it you guys? You wanna come along?"

Haku looked up from his seat at Sakura. His doll like face made him look like a girl half the time but no one really questioned why he looked like that because he was most likely born with natural beauty.

"I apologize Sakura-san, I have to meet Zabuza sensei after school for tutoring. Maybe some other time." He gave her a weak smile then turned to Sai to see what his answer was. Sai, with is extremely fake smile, gazed at Sakura. His smiles were always fake no matter how you looked at them. However, only stupid people like Naruto wouldn't notice the difference. His short black hair covered his eyes ever so slightly, his appearance was almost exactly like Sasuke's only with less hair. Girls always faught over who was better looking.

"Sounds good, I'll attend." He looked down at the notes before him and continued to work. It was hard to tell whether he actually willingly said yes or did so just for the fun of it.

"Oh yeah! Gaara, you wanna come along too? You really need to get out more and you're always a friend among us you just have to get to know us more. So you _should_ come along. It'll be fun." Sakura was trying her best to convince him but she didn't exactly know what to say to him to get him to go. Maybe the simple mention of Hinata's name would help motivate him. Gaara crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair to think. Of course, thinking really wasn't the best thing for him to do.

_**"Come on, you know you want to go. Naruto and all them are your friends anyway. You just have a tendency to give people the cold shoulder all the time. Besides…Hehe, Hinata'll be there."**_

Gaara groaned deeply to himself. He _hated _it when his inner self butted in. It always had stupid things to say that he himself would never say. He let out a sigh. Ramen wasn't so bad. Besides, you got a cookie with every 2 bowls you bought.

"_Firstly…Shut up. Second, yeah I'm going but not for the reasons you listed." _Gaara answered the creature within.

"Hn. Fine." Was all Gaara had to say, it was his way of saying 'yeah sure why not, hanging out is fun'.

"Okay! Great. We'll meet outside the school gates after school." Sakura began heading back to her group. Her inner self was throwing punches of victory to the air in front of her. _"Oh yeah! Score, dammit!"_

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_

Time seemed to pass by quickly. English with Iruka and Science with Orochimaru went by quickly and soon enough it was lunchtime. The bell rang and everyone left their seats and headed for the lunchroom. Personally, Hinata didn't know where she was going. She began going with the flow and walking down the hallways with a nervous look on her face. She stood out like a sore thumb. Eventually, after being pushed out of the way many times, Hinata gave up. She stopped walking and stepped off to the side to wait for things to die down. Why hadn't she followed Sakura or Ino when she had the chance. She also could have followed Naruto or Kiba or anyone else she knew but now it was too late. She was officially lost.

She let out a sigh as she watched people scurry by. She probably should have stayed by the classroom to see if Neji would come along. She leaned against the wall and looked down helplessly at the floor. After was seemed like hours someone was now standing in front of her. Their tall shadow darkened the light that was shining on her. She looked up slowly to see who was standing before her. It was none other than Sabaku Gaara. His pale emerald eyes pierced through her like nails like when she first saw him.

"U-um-" she began to speak but was cut off by Gaara speaking first.

"You're lost aren't you?" he asked simply. Hinata didn't know how to reply. If she said yes she would indeed be telling the truth but she would also look like a fool. If she said no then he would most likely ask her what she was doing standing alone with her books still in hand.

"Y-yes, I guess I am…" she began looking back down at the floor in order to avoid his gaze. That was when she quickly remembered what happened last time she tried to look away from him. As hard as it was she looked him in the eyes the strange thing was she didn't see what she expected to see. His eyes told her that he was in pain, not physically but mentally. He looked like he could break down at any moment and let normal emotions flow. It was then that a mix between a gasp and a groan escaped Gaara's lips. He knew she could see through him and quickly masked it up with his normal expression with a simple blink of an eye.

"Come on. I can take you to the others." He began walking down the hallway expecting her to follow which she did only at a slower pace. Gaara couldn't help but wince when a splitting pain ran through his head.

"_Whats wrong with me? She was looking at me with sympathy. But why? I don't understand!" _he couldn't take the pain anymore. He clutched his head and stopped walking, his body shaking madly. Why wasn't that stupid other voice kicking in? It would usually say something by now like 'awww, how cute! She cares for you!'. It wasn't saying anything like that at all. Nothing was happening and for some reason it hurt.

Hinata let out a gasp when she saw the pain Gaara was in. She quickly ran to his side and tried to support him the best she could without letting him fall to the ground.

"S-Sabaku-san? Are you alright? Sabaku-san?" Gaara was taking in slow yet deep breaths in and out. He clearly was suffering. Hinata looked at his face with concern. He returned the look only full of pain. The last word he managed to say was "Y-you're…_not afraid…?_" the last part was only a fragment of his own thoughts. He had already passed out leaving his dead weight on the poor girl trying her best to support him.

"W-what should I do?" she asked herself, her voice shaking. The halls had been crowded earlier, why was everyone suddenly gone? She slowly sank to the ground with Gaara still in her arms. Just when she thought she had lost all hope a female's voice called out the red head's name.

"Gaara! Omigawd! Gaara!" A tall girl with blond hair split into four pigtails rushed to aide Hinata. "W-what happened to him!? Oh god he must have had another attack! You!" the girl quickly glanced up at Hinata. "What happened?"

Hinata was unsure of where to start but she calmly and quickly explained what happened. "B-but you see, I-I don't know my way around so…I don't know where the nurses office is or anything like that and…" before she could finish the blonde was helping support Gaara by pulling him up and putting his arm around her neck. "Take his other arm." The blonde replied simply. Hinata nodded and followed suite. "Come on. I know my way around way better than you do." The two started walking down the hallway with Gaara between them.

"Oh yeah by the way, my name is Sabaku Temari Gaara's older sister. And you are?" Temari trailed off waiting for Hinata to answer but the blue haired girl simply looked from Temari to Gaara then back. "Haha, I know we look nothing alike!"

Hinata managed to let a small giggle escape her lips before saying her name. "I'm Hyuuga Hinata."

"Oh wow! A Hyuuga eh? Interesting." There was silence for a minute as the two girls looked past Gaara at each other. "Oh yeah, right! Gaara. We better hurry!"

Within minutes the two girls had reached the nurse's office. "So this is it okay." Temari finished saying before they entered the large room. The name on the door said Nurse Rin.

"Rin! You in here?" Temari called but there was no answer. "I guess she isn't here. Lets just put him on one of the beds for now." With that said the two carefully placed Gaara in one of the beds near an open window.

"Listen, Hinata-chan. I need you to watch over Gaara for a while. I hope that's alright. I have some business to attend to. If Rin comes in she'll understand everything." Temari made a quick exit from the room leaving Gaara and Hinata alone. Hinata stared at the door from which Temari left from then turned to Gaara's sleeping form. Strange, he didn't seem like the type that would sleep so soundly.

Quietly, Hinata pulled a chair up next to the bed Gaara slept in. He looked so peaceful as the wind blew strands of his hair across his forehead. Hinata took this opportunity to look at his forehead. Sure enough there, tattooed on his forehead was the kanji for 'love' on the left side. Sakura was telling the truth. Slowly she reached out to touch it, as it to see if it was real or just one of those fake water on ones. Sure enough as soon as one of her delicate fingers touched his forehead she knew right away it was real. Gaara seemed to wince as soon as she touched it causing her to quickly pull back. Did it hurt or something? How long has he had it? He really couldn't be as bad as people pulled him off to be. Maybe they just haven't put in the time to get to know him. What was she thinking? That _she _would put in her time and effort to get him to open up to her? There was no way she could do something like that especially with her lack of self-confidence.

She let out a small sigh. She slowly bent forward and rested her arm on the side of the bed then her head on her arms. The breeze sure was nice in this room. Anyone could doze off, even her. And soon enough she did.

A/N: Well...That was fun to write! Its kinda hard to put things in together from the beginning to the point where all your ideas are coming from! I am kinda just throwing this together but i get some pretty good ideas while writting. Once again sorry for spelling mistakes.

Julia Burn: Thank yous. Cookie for joo!

The Norwegian Dragon: There ya go! A nice pertiful update! here, have a cookie aswell!

sailorchix: Hm, I guess you could call his inner self Shukaku. For some reason I doubt Shukaku would be like the way I have portrayed him...er her? I dunno! Hands you a cookie

hyugaheiress: Thank you muchly! Reviews really are lotsa fun especially if you get good feedback. You deserve a cookie aswell.

StarlightDemonFiresong: haha, it took me a while to get that part right. Lotsa earasing and stuff like that. Glad it turned out to be amusing. Cookies for you toos.

Blue-shine-angel: Well here it is! and a cookie for your patients!(I don't think I spelt that right XD )

Crimson-sky-line: Wow thats pretty interesting. I can understand your reaction! Glad you both like mah story then. Cookies for both of you!

kawaiibaka10: Again glad you like mah story! I'll try to find time to check our your stories. Hands you a cookie

marsnmonkey: hehe...yeah, you were bound to find spelling mistakes. You were warned.Gives you a cookie for pointing out how stupid I can be : D

mekhi: I thought it was kinda hard to make Shikamaru like that. I doubt he would even do something like that for...anyone! Oh well, Shikamaru is always helpful! Oh and theres just a little moment in this chapter. hehe. There should be another one in the next chapitar!(yes I am aware that I spelt that wrong, just read it the way it is) Cookie for you.

Phew! I might as well have put that Im giving away free cookies! I think it may have been because Gaara wants the free cookie after ramen haha!

Next time: Just a little bit of courage


	5. Are you sure you're okay?

A/N: Well here it is...the long waited chapter 5! Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been sick and been sleeping _way_ too much lately that I haven't had time to update at all. Oh and sorry if this chapter is a bit all over the place and of course there are bound to be grammar and spelling errors that got past me. Well...I'll try harder to update more, obviously you can't count on me making any promises with when a new chapter will come out

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto...If I did then the filler episodes would be over and there would also be some fluffy yaoi-ness!

"_Hey...Yashamaru...I think I may be hurt...I'm not bleeding...but for some reason my chest really hurts here..." six year old Gaara slowly moved his hand to his chest to indicate where it hurt, his heart. His uncle, Yashamaru, looked down at him with sympathy before moving forward and bending down to Gaara's level._

"_A flesh wound bleeds and may hurt for a little bit but as time goes on it heals and the pain goes away. The harder wounds to heal are the wounds in your heart."_

"_Wounds...of the heart?"_

"_A wound of the heart is different from a flesh wound. Unlike a flesh wound there are no ointments to heal it, and there are times when it never heals." Yashamaru paused as Gaara stared down at the floor. It was quite obvious that Gaara understood what his uncle meant so the older blond decided to continue before he made Gaara feel even worse._

"_But there is one thing that can heal a wounded of the heart." at that Gaara perked up and looked his uncle in the eyes, hope ran through him. "Its...a troublesome medicine and you can only receive it from another person." Yashamaru glanced over at a picture on a near by desk. It was of Gaara's mother and Yashamaru's sister,Karura._

"_W-what is it? How can I heal it?.." Gaara was eager to get the answer out. _

"_The thing that can heal a wound of the heart is...Love..."_

Gaara cringed in the hospital bed as he began feeling a sharp pain in his chest. He slowly opened his eyes as the pain began to fade into nothingness. He was breathing in a deep rhythm, beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. He sat up and looked out the open window unaware of Hinata's presence.

"A...dream about the past...huh..." he let out a deep sigh before he heard a quiet moan coming from beside him. Startled he looked over to see Hinata's sleeping form. Her arms and head rested on the bed as she slouched over in her chair.

"What is she-" His trail of thought was cut off by a brown haired woman with large eyes wearing a long white coat standing at the door. She was obviously Rin, the school nurse.

"Oh my, Gaara. It happened again huh?" Rin slowly moved closer to the bed of which Gaara sat in. In response to the Rin's question he simply nodded his head. When she got close enough her eye caught sight of Hinata.

"Oh, and who's this? A new friend?" she smiled brightly but Gaara's expression did not change.

"Hyuuga Hinata..." he replied. _"But why is she here..."_

"_**Ho ho ho...she was watching over you." ** _Gaara's inner self seemed to be back from whatever vacation it had been on earlier.

"_Whatever..." _Gaara didn't bother asking where it was or maybe he just couldn't remember. Either way there was no way he would be asking _it _any questions.

"Hm, it appears she fell asleep. I don't blame her. Most students that watch over others fall asleep in a matter of minutes!"

Rin's attempt at small talk was failing miserably. But of course, most times when she did try to spark a conversation with him it didn't work. She let out a sigh and walked over to a cupboard and opened it. It was full of different types of medicines for different purposes.

"Lets get down to business shall we?" she began scanning the shelves for something before stopping and pulling out a bottle.

"No." Gaara immediately said. Any emotion to back up what kind of 'no' he was implying was clearly not there. Rin stopped and turned around with a confused look on her face. Gaara knew he had to give an explanation. "I should be fine." he looked at Hinata once more. Rin smiled slightly then returned the bottle to where it was in the cupboard the closed the doors.

"Alright then. But if you think you need it be sure to come back. Don't push yourself too hard." She began to walk away but then stopped. "Oh and you may want to wake up your friend before you leave the room. I know you have a tendency to leave your siblings sitting there when you leave." with a small chuckle and a slight grunt from Gaara she left the room.

"_Crap...how do I wake someone up?"_ Gaara quickly thought. He glanced at the door once more hoping that Rin would come back or Temari would come running in with Kankuro but neither came. He cursed under his breath.

---------------

Temari quickly barged into the cafeteria where students were minding their own business and chatting among friends at different tables. Temari looked around the room like an animal being watched by its predator. Finally her eyes fell apon a brown haired teen with purple face paint on his face.

"Kankuro!" she said loudly before half running half walking over to the table he sat at. He looked up at the blond with question, he had just taken a bite out of his sandwich and chose not to try to talk in fear of being hit by his older sibling.

"Kankuro! Gaara's had another attack. Come on!" Kankuro quickly swallowed the food in his mouth but in the process almost chocked as well. He had no time to prepare for what came next. Temari grabbed his collar and began dragging him away from his pile of food. A look or sadness spread across his face. Oh how he loved lunch hour. All that food. And the ice cream! It was his favorite!

"H-hold on! Temari! K-Kabuto! H-help me out here!" he pleaded. The silver hair teen with rounded glasses simply sat and watched as the two Sabakus left the cafeteria with a smile on his face. More food for him that he didn't have to pay for. He waved slightly as the cafeteria doors closed.

At another table Sakura, Ino, Naruto and the others sat together. Some eating some not. Sakura glanced at the exit then back at her friends.

"Again huh? I still don't understand what happens to Gaara. I kinda feel sorry for him." Sakura said. Ino nodded in agreement while Naruto looked down at the food before him as if he had suddenly lost his appetite. Sasuke remained silent but secretly looked over at Naruto with concern. Rock Lee sat next to Sakura. His dark hair and rounded eyes along with abnormal fuzzy eyebrows often caused people to mistake him as a clone of their gym teacher Maito Gai.

"I'm sure he is fine. Gaara is far too youthful to have any serious health problems!" Lee quickly pointed out. It seemed like everyone at the table sweat dropped at Lee's comment. Sakura laughed nervously.

It was then that Sasuke couldn't take Naruto's silence anymore. He finally let his voice be heard since the beginning of the lunch hour.

"I agree, only total morons get sick all the time." that of course got Naruto going. He balled up a fist and stood up quickly and directed his attention to Sasuke.

"What did you say!?" Naruto growled deeply as a smirk came across Sasuke's face as if pleased with the outcome of his hidden message. Naruto, like Gaara, had to go to the nurses office a lot. The reason was unknown to all students but Temari, Kankuro, Rin, Naruto and Gaara. However, Temari and Kankuro only knew Gaara's reason slightly.

Sakura lowered her head. "You know...I feel bad for not waiting for Hinata. I wonder where she is? I hope she didn't get lost and is now starving." Kiba smacked his hand down on the table and stood up, Akamaru jumped out of his shirt onto the table and began gobbling up any remaining food left on Kiba's plate.

"Akamaru and I can look for her! Besides, don't you have some inviting to do Sakura?" Sakura was surprised at Kiba's actions but nodded her head as the confused members of the table looked at her. Akamaru let out its small squeak of a bark and jumped off the table after Kiba as they left the cafeteria. Shino as well stood up and followed Kiba out leaving the group with a simply "I'll help too."

-Nurses office-

Gaara lay back in the bed he was sitting upright in. There was no way he could wake Hinata up and he didn't even want to try. He looked up at the ceiling waiting for someone to come or for any sign that Hinata was waking up.

"_**You're so nice! Waiting for her to wake up and all instead of simply leaving like you do your siblings. If that doesn't scream love then I don't know what does!"**_

"_Its not love stupid."_

"_**Then what do you call it? Respect for someone who deserves it? Kindness towards the newbie?"**_

"_..."_

"_**Thats what I thought."**_

"_Do you ever shut up..?"_

"_**haha!"**_

"In here! In here! Hurry up Kankuro!" Temari's voice could be heard before she barged into the office with Kankuro following closely behind or more like being dragged like a dog on a choke chain. Temari's loud actions caused Hinata to quickly jump awake and Gaara to shift in the bed uncomfortably.

"_Thank god shes finally awake."_

Hinata looked around before finally realizing where she was. She looked at Gaara then let out a gasp.

"D-d-did I fall asleep..?" she questioned nervously. Gaara nodded his head and before long Hinata's face was a light shade of pink. She stood from her seat and bowed immediately followed by several apologies.

Temari stopped a few feet away from Gaara's bed to see Hinata apologizing several times.

"Huh? What happened?" she asked. Hinata quickly turned around to face the blond.

"I-I-I f-fell asleep." the short haired girl replied timidly. Temari began to laugh as she waved a hand in reassurance.

"Oh we all do! No need to worry."

"Temari...Gaara looks fine to me...why did you have to drag me all the way up hereeee...?" Kankuro complained.

"Um...well. I thought it was serious!" Temari tried her best to make up an excuse even if it was the truth. Flames seemed to spark in Kankuro's eyes as he was planning his revenge. All the tension was taken away my a puppy's loud yapping. Everyone turned their attention to the door where a small white and brown puppy sat waiting for someone to catch up.

"Tch! Why did you have to come along! I don't need your help! See? Akamaru already found her!" Kiba could be heard yelling loudly in the hallway. Who he was yelling at was still unknown to the students inside the office. Their question was soon answered by Kiba walking into the office followed by Shino.

"K-Kiba-kun, Shino-kun!" Hinata said in surprise. It was even more surprising that she knew Shino's name since she only saw it on the seating chart Shikamaru gave her.

"Ah, Hinata. We came looking for you when we couldn't find you at lunch. Everyone was worried...And by 'we' I mean Akamaru and I..." he said the last part silently to himself but it was clear that Shino heard though he remained silent with his hands in his pockets. "Come on, come on! Everyones waiting!"

"B-but..." Hinata began to speak as she glanced over at Gaara with concern. She had almost forgotten why they were in the nurse's office to begin with.

"I'm fine." Gaara said as if reading her mind. He would have added that he would catch up later but that didn't sound like something he would say. It would probably leave everyone in the room speechless with their mouths open.

"A-are you sure, Sabaku-san?"

If Gaara was like any other guy in the school he would have shown some emotion to her choice of honorific. Instead he merely nodded and let his mind ask the question instead.

"_'San'?"_

"_**She's just being nice. She doesn't want to say something wrong. Though it would have been cuter if she used 'kun' or 'chan' along with your first name." **_

Gaara mentally rolled his eyes. Some of the things his inner self said really tended to tick him off. No wait, scratch that, EVERYTHING his inner self said ticked him off.

Kiba soon took hold of Hinata's right arm to help her along since she obviously wasn't going to budge any time soon. He looked over at Gaara with a slight smile on his face.

"Uh, hope you get well soon buddy." with a nod from Gaara, the trio left the office with Akamaru following close behind.

Once they were out of hearing range, a large grin spread across Temari's face.

"Hu hu hu, looks like our little bros got himself a girlfriend." she slightly nudged Kankuro with her elbow as she spoke. Kankuro just stood still glancing over at Temari with a dumb found look on his face.

"Eh? Gaara's got a girlfriend? You mean that short haired chick that just left? Ha! Thats a laugh." He moved closer to Gaara's bed. "So tell me, whats her name?"

Gaara responded by pulling the covers away from his body and swinging his legs out of bed. He looked up at Kankuro and gave him a death glare that clearly said 'she's not my girlfriend'. At that Kankuro backed away, his hands up in front of him as if to defend himself from being hit.

-Hallway-

"So Hinata, what were you doing in the nurse's office with Gaara?" Kiba asked in a straight-to-the-point tone.

"O-oh...well, he fainted in the hallway a-and Temari-san left him in my care when she went to get that other guy...Kankuro was it?" Kiba nodded to confirm that she was right about Kankuro's name.

"When I first saw Akamaru head for the nurse's office I was kinda worried it was you who was sick and in bed." Kiba's face began to redden with embarrassment. Hinata lowered her head looking down at the ground as they continued to walk. Kiba leaned in towards her to look at her face. It almost looked sad in a way.

"Whats wrong?" he questioned. Hinata immediately looked up and shook her head.

"N-no, its nothing."

Shino eyed her suspiciously. It was clear that she felt bad about leaving Gaara behind. Shino was never one to talk a whole lot but he could easily see into people's hearts and know when to speak and when not to. He stopped walking and stood still for a moment. It was then that Hinata and Kiba stopped and looked behind them to see that Shino wasn't walking with them anymore. Kiba got a sour look on his face as he glared at Shino's immobile form.

"Whats wrong with you?" He asked harshly.

"Go on ahead without me. I'll catch up later."

"Fine by me!" Kiba continued walking putting his hands behind his head as he walked casually down the hallway once more. "Lets go Hinata."

-Cafeteria-

"EH!? You're going to try to set Gaara and Hinata up!? Wow Sakura...thats a little extreme don't you think?" Ino was completely shocked when she heard of Sakura's plan. "But, I'll come anyway just to see you fail miserably."

"Man..girls are so troublesome..." Shikamaru who was sitting next to Ino said. Ino only laughed at that as she looked over at the lazy boy next to her.

"That didn't seem to stop you from going out with Temari." Shikamaru just shrugged his shoulders in reply.

"So heres what we'll do. Since some of you aren't sure whether you can fit going out after school into their schedule then we'll all meet up at the school gates and wait 10 minutes. If you don't show up and still want to come along then you can still meet us at Ichiraku Ramen. Okay?" Sakura smiled brightly when she finished as everyone nodded.

"Oi! I found Hinata!" Kiba and Hinata had just entered the cafeteria and stood near the table.

"Ah, Hinata were were you? I'm so sorry for not waiting for you. I almost forgot you didn't know your way around." Sakura apologized.

"N-no, its okay. I just got a-a little lost."

"Well come on, have a seat." Hinata nodded and sat down.

The rest of the day seemed to go smoothly. Art with Kurenai, Gym with Gai and Anko, and finally cooking with Asuma. Hinata's personal favorite was art, she always loved art and it was obvious if you took one step in her room. Gym was a little crazy, Gai was always saying stuff about everyone's 'youthful energy' which got everyone several push-ups and laps around the gym and outside on the football field out behind the school. Anko, after only a few laps around the gym, took control of the girls in attempt to save them from Gai's wrath and Lee's constant wanting more of a challenge. As far as cooking goes, it was clear that Asuma was a cooking freak but the constant 'bathroom breaks' he took caused the class to be less enjoyable. It was clear he was going outside to have a smoke.

The bell rang for the end of the day which immediately got Asuma telling everyone to get out of his class which everyone did without any further question. Hinata sighed a sigh or relief when she exited the classroom. The day was finally over.

"Don't forget! Meet at the front gates when you're ready." Sakura had slapped her hand on Hinata back which caused her to jump.

"O-oh, yes, right of course." Hinata had almost forgot all about it. She still didn't know her way around the school just yet. She hoped she wouldn't get lost. She would also have to tell Neji where she would be and who she would be with.

Hinata began walking down the hallways to her locker that she found after lunch.

"Hinata-chan!" a familiar voice was heard from behind. Hinata turned to come face to face with non other than...

"Ah, Temari-san. I-is something wrong?"she questioned.

"No, not really. I just wanted to say thanks for watching over Gaara earlier. Not many people would agree to do that." Temari smiled and held her hands out. "Here, I'd like you to have this. As a thanks." In her hands lay a necklace with a ruby red gem shard.

"I-I can't take that. It looks far too precious." Hinata protested.

"Aw, come on. You'll only make me feel bad if you don't take it. Besides, red seems to be your color." without waiting for any response, Temari put it in Hinata's hands and walked away with a wink.

"W-wait!" of course, it was already too late. Hinata was stuck with it. She sighed as she stared down at the necklace in her hand. It really was beautiful.

"Hinata-sama." Hinata was quickly pulled out of the trance she was in when she heard her cousin's voice behind her. She looked up, her face mixed with surprise and happiness.

"Neji-niisan! U-um...I-" Hinata began to speak but she was cut off by Neji confessing something before her.

"Hinata-sama, Ten-ten and I are going out. She said that she needs help picking out a kimono for the autumn festival since she's grown out of her old one. Please tell Hiashi-sama and Hanabi-sama that I won't be home till later."

"O-oh...I-I see. W-well...I-I'm going out with a few friends for ramen. T-to...get to know everyone...and all. S-so...You may have to call...Father..." for some reason it was difficult to tell her cousin that she too was going out. As soon as she finished talking Neji got a stern look on his face.

"That Gaara isn't going is he?" he questioned eagerly.

"I-I'm not sure..." it was the truth, she didn't know exactly if he was or not. "B-but Neji-niisan...You really shouldn't think badly of him. He's not a bad person-"

"I told you, you don't have to stand up for him." Neji paused and looked took a silver watch out of his pocket. "Just...stay clear of him alright. I'll call Hiashi-sama and tell him that we both won't be home till later." with that said Neji bowed and walked past Hinata. She kept her position watching as Neji disappeared into the river of students. It wasn't long before he was out of sight. She let out a sigh and continued on her way.

-Front gates-

Amazingly enough, Hinata found her way to the front gates where she found Naruto and Sasuke arguing loudly. Though it seemed as though Naruto was being the loud one. Hinata quickly rushed in to break it up.

"N-Naruto-kun, Sasuke-san..." she was barely even noticed due to her inability to speak up.

"Now you listen here, you...you jerk! Why is it that you always have to act like you're all high and mighty!? Don't you know how to lay off!?" Naruto said angrily. Sasuke, clearly unaffected by Naruto's insults, crossed his arms and smirked.

"Honestly, you need to learn how to use your eyes more often. You really are a total moron..." Sasuke replied cooly.

"Wh-what?...that doesn't any sense at all. What has that got to do with anything! I can see perfectly fine!" Naruto shot back. Sasuke opened his mouth to say something else but quickly closed it as soon as Hinata moved in between the two, facing Naruto.

"Naruto-kun. Please, I don't know what you're fighting about but...please just try to get along...just this once?" Naruto looked at the girl in front of him with a confused look on his face. He clearly had cooled down but as soon as he looked at Sasuke's emotionless face again he frowned.

"Just keep him away from me!" Naruto added turning his head away from Sasuke. Hinata sighed a sigh of relief knowing that they wouldn't be fighting for the time being.

"Amazing Hinata-san. You were able to break up a fight between these two. You really are something." Hinata turned to see the owner of the current speaker. Sai. He let one of his fake smiles to spread across his face as he stopped in front of the three. Hinata tilted her head to one side as if to be confused.

"Sai-san, right?" Hinata asked, Sai nodded, his expression unchanging.

"Eh? Gaara! Great! You're coming too!" Naruto said happily. Hinata gasped slightly when she noticed Gaara standing behind Sai.

"S-Sabaku-san. A-are you feeling better?"

Gaara shrugged his shoulders, "Better than before." he replied. Naruto moved up closer to Gaara with a smile on his face. The two began talking amongst themselves though Naruto was doing most of the talking. Sasuke leaned up against the gates while Sai remained where he was with that disturbing fake smile on his face. Hinata wished that someone else would show up soon. Her wish was soon granted when Sakura, Ino, and Lee came into view.

"Wow, I thought we would at least be one of the first to arrive." Sakura said with a smile. Ino immediately took action and moved towards Sasuke to give him a hug which was quickly rejected. Her rejection caused her to move to the second best thing, Sai. He simply acted nice, trying his best not to seem rude which was something he was still working on.

"We just have to wait for two more I guess." Lee stated.

"Who's left?" Hinata questioned.

"Shikamaru and Temari. They'll most likely show up fashionably late." Sakura finished.

The group waited five minutes before the said two finally arrived.

"We're the last ones eh?" Temari inquired.

"Man, being early is way too troublesome." Temari glared at her boyfriend, Shikamaru.

"You have got to stop saying that word..."

"Okay! So everyones here! Lets go!" Sakura said eagerly as Lee threw a fist into the air.

A/N: Well thats it for now. Its fun to be evil and put the whole after school part seperate from during school. Oh yeah, some of you may have noticed but the part at the beginning with Gaara and his uncle...I did take most of it from the anime just for a little help. Thanks for the reviews, they are much appretiated and really help me to think about updating more often.

P.S. The whole being sick thing with Gaara and Naruto does have something to do with the Bijuu in them. For instance, Gaara's inner voice is Shukaku. We have yet to see what Kyuubi does to Naruto...but maybe I'll be nice and put it up in the near future.


	6. Ramen and Jumbo Cookies

**AN: So I would first like to apologize to everyone for such a long delay...No I am not dead I was just really caught up in school and having a serious writer's block. But now it is summer so I can write all I wants! Plus I have artist's block so I can't draw so the only thing left for me to do is...WRITE! I would like to thank my reviewers for always making me think about writing everyday. With each and everyday I thought about you guys and felt bad about not putting a chapter up so I would try to write as much as I could.** **So sorry if this chapter isn't as good as it could be. I hope you'll enjoy it none the less. And if you don't like Shounen-ai, I would like to apologize for that too because I will be putting Sasuke and Naruto together but of course the main pairing is Gaara and Hinata! So you can just try to think of the two lovely fellows as really good friends! Haha. Anyway! Onward with chapter 6!**

**Disclaimer: None of these lovely characters are mine. But this story is! Haha! yay! **

_**A Touch of Insanity**_

_**Chapter 6: Ramen & Jumbo cookies**_

So that was that. The group consisting of four girls and six guys were on their way to Ichiraku Ramen, one of the best ramen stands around. The walk over usually doesn't take long, usually about 10 to 15 minutes. Everyone seemed to be moving along in their own little groups. Naruto chose to walk with Hinata since he was avoiding any contact with Sasuke what so ever. Sai and Sasuke, strangely enough, were walking side by side only exchanging words every now and then. Lee and Gaara were paired up though it seemed to be all Lee's choice and completely against Gaara's will. Shikamaru and Temari talked amongst themselves while amusing themselves by the view they were getting of the others in front of them. Lastly, there was Sakura and Ino. Operation GaaHina was underway and Ino was clearly still having doubts.

"Just how do you plan on getting those two together. I mean, look at them! They're not even in ear's reach! I'd think that Naruto has a better chance at winning her love than Gaara does." Ino implied gesturing to each character as she said their name.

"You just have to be patient. I think I'm going to need to get Lee-san's help in this one. Him and Gaara are pretty good friends. I would consider Naruto...but you know how dumb he is." Sakura let a small giggle escape her mouth at the end of her sentence. "He can't even seem to control his own love interest."

Ino looked at Sakura with question at the last part but Sakura just shook her head before the question could get out.

"Okay, here goes nothing." Sakura cleared her throat before raising one of her arms into the air and called out Lee's name. "Lee-san! Can you come here for a minute? We need to talk." with those simple words she had Lee wrapped around her finger.

"Yes Sakura-san!" With an apologetic look on his face in regards to Gaara who gave him a nod, Lee quickly ran to the back of the group with Ino and Sakura. As he did so, Shikamaru and Temari seemed to move in on Gaara.

"Listen, Lee-san, I told you earlier about getting Gaara and Hinata together right?" Lee nodded, "Well, I guess I'm going to need your help after all." With that said the whispering began and the plan was slowly being unfolded.

Meanwhile, up at the front Naruto and Hinata seemed to be chatting away about...well...seemingly Sasuke.

"Ugh, that bastard doesn't understand anything! One minute I'm helping him escape fangirls and I finally think that we're getting along then the next thing I know, BOOM! He ends up saying something that makes no sense at all and always leads to some way of making fun of ME!" Naruto let out a loud sigh of frustration. Hinata was listening intently to Naruto's every word. She was getting to know him better by him rambling on about his friendship with Sasuke. From her point of view he was sensitive and naïve but also very strong willed and cared deeply for his friends and would do anything to become good enough...no...strong enough for them to rely on him when needed. Though, due to his hyperactivity and him being easily aggravated he had trouble getting along with some of those people he calls his 'friends'. Namingly Sasuke. With each word that came out of Naruto's mouth, Hinata found herself falling into admiration.

"N-Naruto-kun, have you ever considered that his words may have meaning behind them? Or maybe...he just doesn't know what else to say around you." Naruto rolled his eyes at Hinata's comment.

"Maybe, but he seems to act like that to everyone! Even when we were kids he acted like he was the most important thing within a ten foot radius." he paused to think for a moment before continuing. He lightly tapped his chin with his right index finger as he gazed up at the sky. "But you know, come to think of it...I always thought that he was-..." Naruto was quickly cut off firstly by Hinata and surprisingly Sasuke's voice letting out a warning around the lines of:

Hinata: "N-Naruto-kun w-watch out for that-" WHAM!

Sasuke: "You fool! Watch where you're-" SMACK!

Naruto had just walked head-on into a metal street lamp. The disturbing sound of bone against metal rang through most of the group's ears. Gaara, Temari and Shikamaru didn't get to hear the sound but caught the very moment when Naruto hit the pole. They stood in shock, sure Naruto was stupid...but they never knew he was capable of doing something so foolish. Sai let out a small chuckle, Gaara remained silent but an ever so slightly smirk spread across his lips, Temari stared wide eyed, her mouth opened a crack indicating that she was about to start laughing, Shikamaru shook his head, Lee charged as did Sakura in concern, Ino stayed put attempting to hold back giggles, Hinata reached her arms out in an attempt to catch Naruto from falling but was failing miserably which led us to Sasuke who quickly caught the blonde in his own arms and fell to his knees with the said boy in his grasp.

"N-Naruto-kun! A-are you alright?" stammered Hinata though Naruto didn't seem to respond. It wasn't long before Lee and Sakura came to a gliding stop before the small group.

"What happened?" Questioned Sakura as she gazed down at Naruto who was being supported by Sasuke then looked up at Hinata.

"W-we were talking but he must have lost concentration of where he was going then walking straight into the pole. I-I tried to warn him b-but..I..." Hinata hung her head in shame. She wasn't able to stop him. She was forced to look into the dark eyes of the young Uchiha when he let out a grunt.

"It's not entirely your fault. I wasn't..." He stopped talking when he felt the slim boy stir in his arms which was when he changed what he was going to say. "If he wasn't so stupid then he may not have drifted off into some daydream. Tch, stupid moron."

Sasuke smirked slightly when he noticed Naruto's features wrinkle with anger. "D-damn you...Sasuke..." the blond mumbled before going limp again. Hah! He was still out cold!

"We should hurry to Ichiraku, that way we can care for him better. It would take too long to take him home at this point in time." commented Lee. The others nodded and began to regroup. It seemed like no one but Hinata and Sasuke took into account of how they were going to get him there. They exchanged glances before Sasuke smiled coolly and picked up Naruto bridal style. It did look odd, the sight of the usually uncaring Uchiha carrying his eternal rival like he was some kind of porcelain doll.

"_Geez, what is this!? Operation SasuNaru isn't supposed to start till later!" _ thought Sakura as she glanced at the two.

It wasn't long before the lights of the small ramen stand came into view. The group sat in order from left to right: Sasuke, Naruto(being supported by Sasuke), Sai, Hinata, Ino, Sakura, Lee, Gaara, Temari then Shikamaru. Sakura let out a small groan at their choice of seating arrangements. She whispered something into Ino's ear which caused the blond to get up from her seat and move over behind Gaara.

"Say, Gaara-honey. I need to talk to Temari about something. How about we switch seats for a while." Ino grinned at her 'sly' choice of words. Gaara glared at her but simply shrugged his shoulders as he switched seats with Ino. As he got up he stopped and glanced at Ino one last time before saying,

"You don't have to make up excuses to get someone to move. Oh, and one more thing. NEVER say 'honey' at the end of my name again..." with that said he took his seat between Hinata and Sakura. A chill ran down Ino spine. Gaara never ceased to creep her out.

"My, we have quite the group today." Teuchi, the owner of Ichiraku ramen said to them with a smile. He then caught sight of Naruto and before the question could be asked of what was wrong with him Sasuke took action.

"Just get me a miso ramen. That should wake him up. Oh and...I guess a damp cloth. He appears to have a bump on his forehead." Teuchi nodded then glanced at the rest of the group. Everyone else placed their order and of course, Gaara ordered two ramen so he could get the free jumbo cookie right away.

Everything was going smoothly. Once Sasuke received the cloth he placed it on the bumb on Naruto's forehead carefully. As soon as the ramen came Naruto's eyes shot open which caused Sai to jump ever so slightly.

"Aww! The sweet scent of ramen!" Naruto said happily. It wasn't long before he noticed that someone was holding his head gently with a cool cloth on his forehead. He looked to his left with question, there sat Sasuke who was looking in the other direction clearly trying to hide the faint blush on his face that Naruto failed to notice. Naruto stared dumbfound for a few seconds before quickly struggling and trying his best to make a large gap between the two. Before Naruto could open his mouth to ask questions and to protest Gaara leaned back in his seat to stare down the isle at Naruto's now frustrated form.

"Are you alright?" he asked simply. At the sound of Gaara's voice Naruto returned the red head's gaze.

"Huh? Oh, yeah I'm fine!" he replied with a smile. "Haha...say...what exactly happened to me?" he continued letting his features drop. Gaara wasn't too into entering the explaining department so he let Sai step in and explain the rest.

"You ran into a lamp post. Sasuke carried you the rest of the way here. He ordered your ramen and now here you are. I only wish I had a camera or something to tape it." Sai let a chuckle escape his lips at the blonde's expression. It was a mixture between shock, embarrassment and anger all mashed into one. "I wish I had a camera to take a picture of your face now!"

"Sai!" came Ino's energetic voice as she let a purple cell phone slide down the table in front of him. "Quick! Take a picture." a large grin spread across Ino's face, Sai attempted to return the smile but it was clearly fake.

"Thanks." he replied quickly holding the phone up and snapping a picture before Naruto could realize what was happening.

"H-hey!" Naruto quickly snapped after the flash went off. "Get rid of that!"

No matter how much Naruto struggled to get Ino's phone from Sai's hands there was no way he was going to get it away from him.

"N-Naruto-kun, shouldn't you thank Sasuke-san...for helping you?" Hinata asked timidly trying once again to stop any fighting from arising. Naruto and Sai stopped what they were doing resulting in Sai's victory. Naruto looked at Hinata like she was a space alien or something.

"Why should I have to thank him? I didn't ask for his help!" Naruto said with an angry tone in his voice. Hinata let out a small gasp before looking down at the table in what seemed like an attempt to build a wall between the two. For once Gaara spoke up. Naruto had no right to raise his voice to her like that.

"Naruto." Gaara began in his usual cold voice. This caused Naruto to once again calm down and look down shamefully.

"S-sorry Hinata. I didn't mean to be rude." at Naruto's apology Hinata looked over at him with a smile.

"I-It's okay." she replied cheerfully. At the other end of the table everyone else looked on at the action happening farther down. Sakura smiled happily. Gaara standing up for Hinata hadn't been part of the plan but it worked out perfectly.

Naruto let out a sigh before shifting his eyes so he was looking at Sasuke's quiet form. He seemed to be waiting patiently but it was unclear of what he was waiting for. The miso ramen that sat in front of Sasuke was soon pushed in front of Naruto by the dark haired boy.

"You can have it. I don't like ramen anyway. I'll just go home." with that said he gave Teuchi the money for the ramen then slid off his stool. Naruto looked from the ramen to Sasuke. He looked like he was in a conflict of which to go after. Well...the ramen did come from Sasuke so...

"Sasuke-kun! Don't go! We only just got here!" Came Sakura's voice. Ino chimed in with a 'yeah'.

"Sorry Sakura, maybe some other time." He smiled slightly then began walking down the road with his hands in his pockets. Naruto grunted then jumped off his seat as well and ran after Sasuke.

"Sasuke!" he called but the dark haired boy did not stop walking. Soon the two where too far away to hear but they had stopped moving and were clearly talking.

"I hope they make up..." Hinata said quietly.

"Don't worry about those two. This kind of thing happens all the time." Temari said casually. "You could say that fighting is there way of showing their affection for each another." she laughed slightly before a bowl of ramen was placed in front of her.

"Its too troublesome if you ask me." Shikamaru leaned forward and rested his arms on the table. Everyone's ramen had come in. Gaara had two bowls of ramen. He let out a sigh. Why had he ordered two again? Oh yeah...the cookie...He looked hopeful at Teuchi but the elder man simply shook his head as if reading his mind.

"Sorry Gaara, but you have to eat the ramen first before you get the cookie. You know what happened last time."Gaara hung his head before he picked up his chop sticks and saying his words of thanks for the meal.

"Last time?" Hinata couldn't help but ask.

"Its best you not know." Gaara said simply as he began eating. Naruto soon came back with a smile on his face. He took his rightful seat in front of his ramen and began to dig in as well. Everyone seemed to be looking at him for answers but his only reply was: "Same as always."

Gaara had offered Naruto his second ramen which was accepted with joy. It was then that Gaara looked up at Teuchi once again with hope. The elderly man let out a sigh as he noticed Gaara's empty bowl. He soon handed Gaara a large cookie the size of a small pizza. A small smile played across the red head's lips.

"Wow! Amazing Sabaku-san!" Hinata chimed in amazement. He glanced over at her. His gaze was quickly returned with faint blush the young girl's part.

"Just 'Gaara'" He replied. She jumped slightly but nodded none the less.

"I-I've never seen a cookie so big..." she began to look down at the table as Teuchi began to laugh heartily.

"They're Ayame's famous chocolate chip cookies! People come from all over to try them." He said proudly.

"_**Hey, hey! You should give little Hinata a piece of that cookie. I bet you'd score big points with her if you did that. Huh? Huh?"**_

"_I don't have time to have you come up with stupid comments."_

"_**Let me guess, you wanna eat your precious cookie in peace? Awww, sorry but I'm just trying to help you along. Come on. She looks so interested in it. Just give her a little piece. She's too shy to ask you herself anyway. How cute!" **_(Insert stupid heart here lol)

"_Tch, yeah right..."_

"Dammit..." Gaara found himself mumbling aloud. Unfortunately for him Hinata heard him slightly.

"Hm? Gaara-san? A-are you alright?" she timidly asked.

"I'm fine. Would you..." he paused mid sentence when he heard his inner voice laughing hard. He let out a sigh. _"Dammit!" _"Do you...want to..." He paused again his inner voice was laughing even harder. Damn inner voice...shut up! "Youwannatrysome?" it all came out so quickly and as he said it he quickly broke off a piece and put it in front of Hinata not giving her a chance to reply. Everyone but Hinata were now staring at Gaara. Looks like cookies really _were _bad for him.

"T-thank you...Gaara-san." Hinata said with a smile. The awkwardness surrounding them was soon broken by Sakura's cell phone ringing. She pulled the small pink phone from her bag and answered it.

"Hello, Haruno Sakura speaking." Sakura said cheerfully however, the smile on her face didn't last long. A woman's loud shrieks could be heard on the other end of the phone causing Sakura to pull the phone away from her ear with haste.

"Sakura! You were due home an hour ago! Where are you!?" the woman on the phone demanded. After a moment of recovery on Sakura's part she put the phone back to her ear.

"Mother, I told you I was going out with some friends for ramen. Besides, why would you care where I am? You hardly pay attention to me anyway." Sakura replied.

"Sakura! I am your mother! How dare you speak to me in that manner! I don't care if you are out with your friends, I want you home right now! Your father will be home soon and you know how he can be when your not home after school. Besides, your cat made a mess in the kitchen again. You need to get that creature under control or I will be forced to get rid of it."  
"Mother! Don't you dare touch Samurai! He only does it because you close the door to his litter box!"

A frustrated sigh could be heard from Sakura's mother. "I don't know what I'll do with you. You're all over the place. I want you home in less than a half hour. Understand?" Sakura let out a groan. Her mother was so demanding sometimes and she even wondered if that woman was even related to her. Several of her friends begged to differ however.

"Gotcha..." Sakura finally replied.

"Good, now get moving!" finally the other end went dead indicating that her mother had hung up.

"Sorry guys...but my mum wants me home as soon as possible. I don't understand that woman at all." She shrugged her shoulders then took a glance at the clock on her cell phone. It read 5:26 pm. It really hadn't seemed like they were there for long. She flipped her phone shut then put it in her bag followed by getting her wallet out to pay for her ramen. It was then that Lee stopped her.

"Please, allow me to pay Sakura-san. I should probably be leaving as well." he said kindly.

"Thank you Lee-san you're a real life saver." she replied with a smile.

"Hm, I should probably get home too. My mom'll have a fit if I don't have the dishes done before she gets home. How troublesome..." Shikamaru soon added when he finished eating his ramen.

"EH!? Everyone's leaving? This isn't fun..." Ino said with disapproval.

"Come on Ino, its not that bad. Only a few of us are leaving." Sakura said trying to urge her friend to stay.

"Well, if Shika's leaving then thats my cue to go as well." Temari poked in.

"Okay, so I take that back. A lot of us are leaving." Sakura looked down at her fingers in thought, "So Sasuke-kun already left, Im leaving, Lee-sans going too, and Shikamaru and Temari are going as well. Heh, well..." the pink haired girl leaned in closer to Ino to whisper into her ear, "You have to stay here to watch over Hinata and do your part in the operation, understand?"

Ino let out a sigh and nodded her head none the less. "Okay, I get it. Just leave already!" Sakura smiled and hopped off her seat. Everyone who was leaving followed suite and went their own ways saying their good-byes and Temari saying that she would see Gaara later that night.

And so there were five. Everyone had finished eating and paid for their food though when it came to Naruto's order the others had to pitch in a few bucks so he wouldn't have to help in the kitchen like he has done so in the past. They stood in a semi-circle outside the stand to go over stuff to do.

"Well, I dub we go for a walk to the park." Ino said casually. Sai simply nodded his head to that while Gaara shrugged his shoulders.

"I-if thats what everyone wants..." Hinata said going along with the gang though Naruto seemed to protest.

"Aw, come on! Why can't we go to the arcade? I wanna play DDR!" Naruto complained. Ino sighed heavily before smacking her forehead.

"Naruto, you and I both know you suck at that game and well...lets face it, the group we have now won't make the game very fun. No offense to anyone here." She laughed nervously due to the stare she was receiving from Gaara at her comment. When Gaara played the dancing game he usually just stood there for the first five rounds then started dancing for two rounds. Those two rounds he did dance to made all the others feel like they belonged in a mode that didn't exist; loser training mode. It was a complete mystery as to how the red head could dance so well and no one dared ask save for Naruto who said he didn't understand the boy's answer.

"Fine, we'll go to the park..." Naruto said with defeat.

"W-we could go some other time? I'm rather interested in this...game.." Hinata said quietly.

"Okay then, lets hurry." Ino began, "it looks like its gonna rain.

"R-rain?" the young Hyuuga asked. "I hope there won't be a thunderstorm..." she added so quietly no one could hear.

**End Chapter Six! Hope you enjoyed it...it was pretty fun to write some parts but ya know. Sorry for spelling and grammar mistakes! Hope to get a new chappy up sometime next week! I'll try to do that more, a chapter a week. Okay! Love ya!**


	7. How am I ever going to explain this?

A/N: First off, I would like to apologize to everyone for such a loooong wait for this story to progress. To tell you the truth, I've just been lazy. Whenever I tried to write this chapter I would give up so easily. So I guess I lied in the other a/n. D: I hope you will forgive me. Its a new year so I'm going to try harder than ever to get this story moving! RAWR!

Also I would like to point out that...THERES NO GAAHINA-ness in this chapter OMG! NOO! I'll have to make up for that in the next chapter!

Disclaimer: Do not own! So sad.

**A Touch of Insanity**

Chapter 7

Whenever someone has the nerve to open their mouths about rain the weather always seems to have a quick change in events even if it were the sunniest day ever. Most of the time when it rains it pours which is exactly where we find our little friends as of this very moment all taking shelter under a small wooden platform the leads to the bright yellow plastic slide in the park. They had clearly arrived but no sooner had it started raining.

"I told you we should have gone to the arcade...But did you listen? No! Of course not!" Naruto rolled his eye and crossed his arms as he glanced back at Ino. Currently the five where sitting back to back though Gaara took the end position. Ino frowned and tapped the back of her head against Naruto's of whom was against her back.

"Oh just shut it! I don't want to hear you complain or try to rub the fact that you _may _have been right this time."Ino let out a sigh then hung her head in defeat. The rain clouds made the sky darker than it should. She really did take into consideration of whether there would be a thunderstorm or not. Of course as of now that wasn't her major concern. Why had Sakura put this stupid operation onto her shoulders in the first place? Ino just wanted to sit back and watch the pink haired girl fail but now it somehow became her duty to follow everything through.

"U-um...Don't you think we should head home. It kinda looks as though its getting worse." Hinata quietly pointed out. She was next to Ino with her back against Sai's while Gaara sat cross legged to her left with his back towards them all. Ino frowned and sighed for what seemed like the millionth time.

"I suppose you're right. This day just keeps on getting from bad to worse..."

"I believe the only thing that could make this worse would be--" Sai began speaking but was quickly cut off by a soft rumble of thunder. "Never mind." he finished with one of his famous smiles.

"Good job, Sai! You went and jinxed us!" Naruto stated loudly as he brought his knees to his chest while wrapping his arms around his legs. "...I hate thunderstorms. They bring back..bad memories."

Everyone had fallen silent unsure of what to do now. Clearly the best choice of action would be to go home however none of them seemed to be in the mood to move. Gaara gazed out at the nearby sandbox as it got drenched in the rain. Sand is always rendered useless when wet, thats what Gaara thought. He let his shoulders fall. Out of all of them he seemed to be the calmest but in truth he was just as lost as them. He disliked water in general so it was rather understandable as to why he hadn't budged yet.

A loud clap of thunder was heard followed by a bright flash of lightning. Afterwards a small squeak could be heard causing almost the whole group to turn to it's source-Hinata. The petite girl had her knees close to her chest and her hands firmly clasped over her ears along with her eyes closed tightly. Ino was the first to speak up being the closest to her.

"H-hey, are you okay?" she asked cautiously putting a hand on the raven haired girl's shoulder. At the sudden touch Hinata jumped but when she realized what it was she opened her eyes and looked over at Ino.

"Huh? U-um...I..." she bit her bottom lip and began chewing on it lightly trying to hold back any tears that may start forming in her eyes. "I'm going to go home!" she said quickly as she crawled out from under the shelter and began running away. She wasn't even sure if she was heading in the right direction she just wanted to find somewhere safe where she wouldn't see the lightning or hear the thunder.

"Hinata! Wait! You can't go alone!" Ino yelled as she too emerged from the shelter with Naruto close behind. Sai poked his head out allowing his dark hair to get soaked in no time. Another rumble of thunder caused Naruto to back down slightly. Ino stopped the urge to go after Hinata when she noticed Naruto's back down. She groaned and wished this whole day would just burn out of history. The next thing she knew Naruto had his head clutched in one of his hands.

"Naruto, this isn't the time for you to have another one of your head aches! Stop fooling around!" she begged hoping he was only faking. One advantage came from her words though-Gaara came out from the shelter as well to assist Naruto.

"_Aw man, Sakura better not want me to take this situation and use it for her stupid little operation! Everyone is breaking down!" _

Sai now stood next to Ino in thought. They watched as Gaara spoke quietly to Naruto, neither knew what he was saying but whatever it was it was clearly helping.

"Okay, we have some serious problems here. First we have to get Naruto home. Second, we have Hinata. I get the feeling she's not doing too well on her own. From the looks of things...I'd say that Gaara is the best fit for taking Naruto home." For some reason she just knew that Sakura would hate her later for making that decision but nonetheless Gaara nodded and began walking with Naruto away from Ino and Sai. Everyone was soaking wet and uncomfortable which didn't help with the situation at hand. "So Sai, will you assist me in looking for Hinata?" Sai simply nodded his head and for once didn't have a strange smile on his face. The duo dashed off in the direction Hinata had gone hoping she hadn't gotten far.

-----------------

Gaara seemed to be shrinking down to the ground with each rain drop that hit his head. He really did hate the rain but he was only doing this to help Naruto. They were the same in their own way that no one else could really understand. Gaara looked up at the dark ominous sky as he walked next to Naruto out of the park. Naruto's dislike of thunderstorms was all Sasuke's doing, that thing inside him only contributed to turn it into a fear.

"Hey...Gaara," Naruto began looking over at Gaara's current pathetic form. Rain really reduced the red head's tough-guy act. Said red head looked over at his companion, the flash of concern in his eyes wondered if the blond would need anything. "-thanks. You know for helping me. I'm really glad to have a friend like you. You're always helping me out." with that Naruto smiled widely obviously trying to lighten the mood and Naruto's smile always seemed to help.

"Don't mention it. We're alike. There's nothing to it." Gaara replied plainly with a hint of care behind his words. Naruto nodded understanding what he really meant. Soon enough the two had almost completely forgot about the rumbling thunder, pouring rain and the fact that they were soaking wet. Someone was going to have a cold tomorrow.

--------------

Hinata ran swiftly down the empty streets Konoha. It almost seemed like she was the only one on the whole block until-. "Hey, watch where you're going little girl!" came a low gruff voice. Hinata had fallen onto the ground and quickly looked up at the voices harsh remark. She had accidentally run into a large man who had two tall thin men beside him; one holding an umbrella over the large man's head. When she realized what had happened she quickly stood up to apologize.

"I-I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was-" she was cut off when she was thrown down to the cold wet ground once more this time into a puddle. She looked up cupping her cheek that seconds before had be roughly hit.

"Do you have any idea who you're dealing with? A simple apology won't cut it, _girl_." As soon as those words came out of the large man's mouth one of his lackeys moved forward with a grin on his face. The other who was holding the umbrella adjusted his sunglasses as he watched on with fake interest. Hinata was confused. Who were these people? It was all an accident. This day really was one of the best and worst days in history.

The tall thin man bent down and picked her up by the collar of her shirt. She winced at the force and would have fought back had she not been so confused at the moment. The man drew back his fist ready to hit her far worse that his 'boss' did when a flash of lightning lit up the sky and a heroic voice called:

"Hinata-sama!!" Out of seemingly nowhere came Hyuuga Neji almost flying through the air and kicking the tall man in the face. The man fell back with a splash in to a mud puddle, his sunglasses broken on his face. He seemed to have lost a few teeth in the process. Hinata fell on the man with her eyes closed shut. When she opened them she came face to face with a toothless, black-eyed man that had recently been her attacker. Her eyes widened and she scurried away from him with a silent squeak.

"Hinata-sama! Are you okay?" Neji hurried over to his cousin bending down to her level when he got to her. The younger Hyuuga could only nod in confirmation but Neji didn't seem to agree. "You're face!" he began cupping her wounded cheek, "Did they do this to you?" Hinata had almost forgot about that wound and her eyes seemed to grow a size before she tried to explain.

"NEJI!! Dammit! Wait up!" came a female voice behind them. There, soaking wet was Tenten carrying a red bag in her hands. She was panting heavily when she finally caught up and clearly was confused.

"You, kid! You'll pay for this!" Came the large man's voice once more. They were ignoring them completely. Neji glared behind him at the two remaining men. The two cowered at the Hyuuga's glare of death.

"You're still here? I thought you would be smart enough to leave after seeing your friend need a trip to the hospital. Would you like to join him?" Neji questioned standing up to face them. "Tenten, watch Hinata-sama for me." Now normally people would have time to get ready, get their guard up put up a good fight. Oh no, the poor men hardly had time to turn around to run before they were both knocked out by the angered teen.

"Gawd Neji, you just had to go an abandon me back there. Because of you I lost my umbrella. You must have some kind of 'Hinata-Sama senses' or something." Tenten pointed out kneeling down next to Hinata. Neji turned around quickly with a shocked look on his face as he looked at Tenten's cheeky smile. A slight blush graced his cheeks but he quickly put his sturdy mask back on.

"Please TenTen, its my responsibility to watch over Hinata-sama. You could see what was happening a mile away if you were paying attention." Neji replied coolly.

"Right, sure whatever you say Neji." Tenten said full of sarcasm. In this weather it was almost impossible to see more than five feet ahead of you putting Neji's excuse down the drain. He scowled and knelt down in front of Hinata once more to examine her face. She was soaking wet and her eyes looked as though she had been crying and was ready to do so again. He couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards her. He found it slightly strange that she hadn't said anything yet but he soon remembered her fear of thunderstorms. His shoulders dropped when he saw her lips start to move as if she was trying to talk. A hum of question sounded in his throat. He couldn't quite make out what she was trying to say.

"Neji-niisan...I was so frightened!" with those words out the poor girl lunged forward and held her cousin in a much needed hug as she broke down. Both Tenten and Neji were surprised by her actions. Tenten hadn't known the girl long but she just knew she wasn't the kind who would let her guard down and fall apart easily. Was this because of the storm or the goons? Either way all three were soaking wet and in serious need to go home. Neji hugged her back and quietly tried to reassure her that everything was okay now.

"Come on, lets go home. Tenten, would you rather head home yourself or would you like to come with us?" Neji asked looking at the slightly nervous brown haired girl. In truth she was kinda jealous that Neji liked Hinata so much but she would always hide it. She smiled at him and tilted her head to one side.

"I'll just go home. I need to pick some stuff up for my mum anyway and you're going to need your rest. Thanks for today Neji, I'll see you in school tomorrow. Bye!" with that she turned around and began to run away from them slightly hurt but kept up her strong spirit. Neji watched her go and sighed at her quick retreat.

He loosened his grip on Hinata ending the embrace. They both stood up together. At first all Neji could do was helplessly watch Hinata shake as she wiped away her remaining tears. It was then that he remembered what she was doing out in the first place.

"Hinata-sama, were you not with your friends? What happened to them? Did they abandon you?" Of course knowing Neji he could only think of the worst things that could have happened. Hinata shook her head slowly.

"I ran away. We took shelter because of the rain...but the storm started so...I ran." Neji sighed and put his arm around her as they walked in the pouring rain to the Hyuuga residence.

"How am I ever going to explain that bruise to your father...?" Neji said quietly.

"Sorry..." was Hinata's only response.

TBC...


End file.
